This Monk Wears Heels: Be Who You Are. This item is unavailable.This Monk Wears Heels: Be Who You Are

You won't become the real you unless you face up to what you've avoided most. Once you allow yourself to be who you are, the change will come.

Kodo Nishimura, international make-up artist and Buddhist monk, rose to stardom after appearing in the Queer Eye: We're In Japan! special that aired to massive viewership on Netflix. His wide smile, however, hid a painful past. The book starts with Kodo's childhood in Japan, playing dress up as Little Mermaid, and his lonely adolescence when, although born into a family of priests, all he wanted to do was wear pretty dresses and become a princess. Growing up an outsider in a society that celebrates uniformity, Kodo's time in New York at the Parsons School of Design and his work as a leading make-up artist finally brought him to embrace his own uniqueness.

The book is full of practical tips for positive thinking and insights into the philosophical approach to life Kodo has crafted as a Buddhist monk. Detailing his journey to self- love, the book provides a gentle, loving, and encouraging voice for all those who dare to be different. This is the English translation of Seisei Dodo, published in Japan in 2020 by Sunmark Publishing, Inc., Tokyo.

Kodo Nishimura is a Japanese Buddhist monk born in Tokyo in 1989. He graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York. After graduating, he remained in the US to work as a make-up artist, where he participated in Miss Universe and NY Fashion Week, receiving high praise from international media and Hollywood actresses. After returning to Japan, Nishimura trained to be a monk and was ordained into the Pure Land sect in 2015. He holds make-up and LGBTQ awareness seminars. His lectures held at the United Nations Population Fund in New York, Yale University and Stanford University have attracted wide coverage on the likes of CNN and the BBC.